Fear, Hope, Loss, Love
by storytell18
Summary: Formerly "The Shot". Answering the call, Terry asked, "Hello?" Then, the voice on the other end simply said, "Goodbye, Batman." Less than one second later, a bullet connected with Terry's chest, causing him to crash into the wall before slumping onto the ground.
1. Alpha

**Author's Notes**

Okay guys, I've decided to try something new (well, relatively new) and now I'm going to do my first _Batman Beyond_ fan fiction. This story is about how everything unravels in Neo-Gotham, especially among those closest to Terry when he is shot by an unknown assailant that knows his secret identity. The chief pairing here will be Terry/Dana, just as an FYI, so if any of you were looking for a Terry/Melanie and Terry/Max, you may want to look elsewhere.

I'm not entirely sure of where I am going to go with this story (nor how often I will update), but I at least hope you'll appreciate my latest, called _The Shot_.

I had been planning to do a _Batman Beyond_ story for a little while, one dealing with Terry being put into a very sticky situation - I had also considered scenarios where Terry's family was kidnapped, forcing him into a crime spree unable to contact Bruce Wayne or anyone else for help and one where Ian Peek's uncensored video went public, revealing Terry's identity to everyone across the globe. Some elements of what I may have planned for those will ultimately manifest themselves later on in the story.

This story is rated T at the moment for violence, some suggestive dialogue, and brief language.

 **Note: I will use Terry and Batman interchangeably, as will I do with Bruce and Wayne. Batman will be used when Terry is in the suit, while Terry will be used when he's a civilian (or in the Batcave). Bruce will be Bruce Wayne as a civilian, Wayne when he's speaking to Terry from the Batcave.**

Now, let's begin the story.

* * *

 _April 17, 2042 0115 hours  
Wayne-Powers Tower, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

It was just another day in Neo-Gotham, or rather just another night. Looking high above his city was the Dark Knight himself, Batman. However, this was not the original Batman. This was the Batman-Beyond, or as some may know him, Batman 2.0. Watching for any criminal activity, Batman contacted his handler to see if anything was up. "Do you have anything, Wayne?"

Meanwhile, from the Batcave came the voice of Bruce Wayne, the original Batman and this Batman's handler. _"The police are investigating a series of high-tech burglaries across the industrial district."_

"What were the targets?"

 _"FoxTeca, Vance Computers, and Luminous Integrated. All three were part of a four-company group reportedly working on a new form of microchip that would help ease demand for silicon. FoxTeca provided the chief material, carbon fiber. Vance brought copper wiring. Luminous provided the blueprints."_

"And the fourth company?"

 _"The Sun Group. They had the aluminum covering required to hold the chips together. Whoever is trying to take the materials is obviously bent on making the chip for themselves."_

"For power?"

 _"Maybe, but there's a huge government contract for whoever makes the best reduced-silicon microchip. FoxTeca, Vance, Luminous, and the Sun Group realized they couldn't do it individually, so they teamed up to do so. I've sent the coordinates for the Sun Group's Gotham office to the Batmobile. Get there as soon as possible."_

"Roger that." With that, Batman let the Batmobile hatch open so he could get in before closing it. As he prepared to take off, Bruce radioed in, _"McGinnis."_

"Yeah?"

 _"Be careful."_

"Got it." With that, Batman took off towards the Sun Group in order to prevent the latest robbery. Thanks to the flight capability and high speed of the Batmobile, it only took Batman about three minutes to get across Gotham to the Sun Group building. Parking the Batmobile on a building across the street, Batman knew that the thieves were there as there was an entire floor with the lights on. Activating the suit's thrusters and wingsuit, Batman flew across the street to the floor where the thieves were stealing the aluminum covering.

Landing on the side of the building, Batman found the hinge for the window and lifted it, opening the window and enabling him to get inside, hooking onto the ceiling of the room before crawling over towards the thieves, who were searching for the aluminum covering on the floor.

Hopping onto the ground, Batman revealed his presence to the four hoodlums, saying, "May I be so kind as to escort you to the security office? You guys clearly don't belong here."

Panicking, each of them pulled out a compact automatic and opened fire on Batman, not that it did any good. Not only did the bullets have little impact on the suit, but Batman also dodged the rounds with ease before firing batarangs at the thugs, disarming all of them of their guns.

One thug charged right at Batman only to be batted aside with a simple punch and knocked to the ground. The next thug also charged up and as Batman went to work on taking him down, the third thug went right behind him and grabbed his arms, preventing him from responding to the second thug as he delivered a punch to Batman's midsection.

However, just because Batman's arms may be bound, he is still not down for the count as with a double kick to the second guy's chest, he went soaring into a desk before his head was hit by an office phone, knocking him unconscious. Then, Batman activated the thrusters and the two quickly went backwards, with the thug striking a column of stone, forcing him to let go of Batman as he then struck one of the windows and began to fall out. Fortunately for him, Batman sent a grappling batarang down towards him, and the rope caught his feet, stopping his fall.

Tying the rope to a metal windowsill, Batman then went after the fourth robber. But when he was nowhere to be seen, Batman noted to himself, "Hmm. I thought there were four of you guys."

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the fourth criminal showed himself, this time wearing an armored exo-suit, and replied, "There are. And only one of you. I'd take those odds any day."

Gritting his teeth, Batman responded, "Don't be so sure." Throwing an electric batarang at the fourth thug, it impacted with the suit, but did nothing to halt him. Laughing at the batarang's ineffectiveness, the thug fired a rocket from underneath his arm right at Batman, forcing him to get out of the way as it impacted at a desk, completely blasting it apart to pieces.

From his link in the Batcave, Wayne explained, _"Keep your distance, McGinnis. That's a Tactical Enhancement Suit. It was developed for the Rhelasian Military for enhancing their soldiers, but it never got out of prototype stages because of cost difficulties."_

As Wayne talked to Batman, the fourth criminal opened fire with a barrage of minigun fire, forcing Terry behind hard cover or else he'd be ripped to shreds. Batman responded, "What's he got?"

 _"Twenty millimeter Gatling gun, dumbfire missiles, guided sniper rifle, goggles equipped for X-ray, night, or thermal vision, twelve millimeter armored plating, and solar-charged power source."_

"Any strategies?"

 _"You could use an electromagnetic pulse to fry his suit, but it's more than likely you'd get caught in the blast as well. Your batarangs simply aren't strong enough to get through the armor, and the battery is protected by an electrical surge, one that would fry your suit."_

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to keep him from using his weapons."

Grabbing another batarang, Batman flung it at the armored thug. Just as the thug effortlessly caught it, the batarang detonated in his hand, temporarily blinding him. Batman took the initiative and hopped onto the back of the thug, grabbing the goggles before tossing them from the suit. However, the thug was able to grab Batman from off the back of his suit and slammed him onto the ground, causing him to cry out in pain.

Crawling away from the criminal, Batman attempted to regroup only to find himself lifted in the air by the last thug, who was ready to snap Batman in two. Quickly scrounging up a batarang, Batman aimed it at one of the desks and threw it. As the criminal mocked, "Missed me!", Batman smirked as the batarang bounced from the desk up to the sprinkler system.

As water poured down on the duo, the fourth thug quickly found sparks coming out of his suit, forcing him to exit out of it. Indeed, Batman had short-circuited the armor with the sprinkler system. With the armored suit useless, the fourth thug attempted to flee, only to be caught in one of the Bat's bolos.

Batman simply said, "Lights out, scum" as he told Wayne, "They're down. Get the police to haul them off."

 _"I've already called Commissioner Gordon. Her people will be here in a few minutes."_

* * *

 _April 17, 2042 0217 hours  
Wayne Manor Batcave, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

Down in the Batcave, an unmasked Batman and Wayne were working on just who the four robbers were.

This Batman, the Batman-Beyond, was high school junior Terry McGinnis, a former delinquent who had accidentally stumbled onto the Batcave - after pissing off some Jokerz, a local street gang named after the long-missing clown prince of crime, Terry found himself at Wayne Manor, where the elderly, reclusive Bruce Wayne had helped him fend them off, only to suffer from chest pains soon after. While helping him in, Terry accidentally triggered the entrance to the Batcave and learned Bruce's secret as the now-retired Batman.

Indeed, twenty years earlier, while trying to rescue Bunny Vreeland, the daughter of one of his old friends, the late Veronica Vreeland, Bruce had suffered a crippling heart attack while fighting the kidnappers, forcing him to grab a gun just to fend them off. At that moment, he realized that if he wanted to continue being Batman, he would have to resort to using guns, making him just like Joe Chill, the very man who killed his parents so long ago. With that, he placed his suit away and never looked back at being Batman, soon becoming a lonely old man. In that time, the last of his friends had died while he had alienated himself from his proteges, Dick Grayson (whose current whereabouts were unknown), Barbara Gordon (the new police commissioner), and Tim Drake (who had suffered unspeakable horrors thirty-five years prior) while he lost much of his vast fortune, enabling the corrupt Derek Powers to buy out Wayne Enterprises.

However, that interaction between Bruce and Terry wouldn't be their last, as shortly after Terry returned home, he saw that his father, Warren McGinnis, one of Powers's workers, had been murdered, and that there was a Wayne-Powers file hidden away. When Terry brought the file to Bruce, he learned that Powers had been working on a deadly nerve agent and was going to sell it to the highest bidder. Before he could get the file to the authorities, Powers confronted him and reclaimed the disk. Not wanting to let Powers go free, Terry snuck back into Wayne Manor and stole Bruce's last Batsuit, a technologically advanced one that heightened his strength and agility so he could spy on Powers.

While Bruce initially was prepared to shut down the Batsuit remotely, he decided it was best if Terry stop Powers from shipping the nerve gas, and Terry was able to stop Powers. As a result, Bruce hired Terry as his personal assistant, his new errand boy. While Terry worked in the field, Bruce was the mission control, offering strategic advice and information about Terry's opponents.

Terry asked, "So who were those guys?"

Pulling up four passports, each passport containing a photo of one of the robbers, Bruce explained, "They're British, ex-MI6 agents who were discharged for excessive force and insubordination. Ever since, they've been freelancing as mercenaries." Pulling up a picture of the first thug Terry took out, Bruce noted, "Michael Dawes, the infiltrator." For the second thug Terry took out, "Jared Raglan, the getaway." For the third, "Lucas Vaughn, heavy muscle." The last one was introduced as, "Zeke Palmroy, the leader."

"So why were they stealing microchip parts?"

"I was running their recent bank account transactions and communications, and there's one name in common." Pulling up the photo of the man who hired him, Bruce revealed, "His name is Hotab Koch. He was a North Kaznian political dissident who wanted the north to use more aggressive force against the south. His demands were shut down following the cease fire brought together by Wonder Woman. Then, he became a terrorist and went underground, springing up periodically in an attempt to reignite hostilities between the north and south."

"I bet they already have. A Kaznian diplomat was attempting to buy the nerve gas from Powers."

"Indeed, McGinnis. Queen Audrey has found out and is sending the Regent of Health here for a world summit to end the use of biological agents on the battlefield. His equivalents from around thirty countries, including here, will be arriving in two days for the summit, and the Kaznian regent, Klaus Sutterfeld, will be giving an address shortly before the summit."

"You think Koch is here to kill Sutterfeld. Then why steal the microchip parts?"

"In addition to his hardcore political philosophy, Koch is also an electronics genius. With each of the pieces he sent the mercenaries to steal, Koch could sabotage Sutterfeld's speech. However, by stopping them, Koch would be unable to sabotage the speech the way he planned. But, with the elements he does have, he could rig an outright bomb to kill Sutterfeld, though security would be a lot harder to get through. Sabotaging the speech would have forced Sutterfeld to move the speech elsewhere, which would have made him a much more vulnerable target."

"Where is the speech being held?"

"In front of City Hall at nine in the morning, rain or shine. Sutterfeld's insistence."

"So how am I going to explain myself being there? I'm no cop, politician, or news reporter. I'm just a student and a vigilante."

"I think I can figure that out. There's going to be more than just cops, politicians, and reporters present at Sutterfeld's speech. One of your teachers is going to offer extra credit for attending the press conference."

"And knowing Gotham, regardless of whether or not a mad terrorist bomber attacks?"

"There have been so many attacks on public events that it isn't all that surprising, Terry. And besides, she's not asking you to be up close and next to him, right? You shouldn't be in any danger from Koch while watching the speech."

"The danger is going to come from protecting Sutterfeld from Koch. Any other reason?"

"I imagine after the attempted sale of Powers' nerve gas, Sutterfeld will want to talk with Wayne-Powers management. However, I'm the only person willing to speak with him."

"Not to mention the only one who can speak his language."

In Kaznian, Bruce responded, "Indeed, Terry."

* * *

 _April 17, 2042 1036 hours  
Hamilton Hill High School, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

After finishing his work for Bruce Wayne, Terry returned home and got some sleep before having to go to school the next day. His academic career was definitely not being helped by the fact he lived a dual life - one as Terry McGinnis, the other as Batman. This resulted in major strain as many times Terry struggled to stay awake in his classes out of exhaustion from his very long days. Bruce definitely did not kid when he said he was a harsh taskmaster the day he hired him.

Back at school, which was named after the late Hamilton Hill, who was the Mayor of Gotham for much of the time Bruce Wayne wore the mantle of Batman, Terry had just gotten out of his health science class and was heading to his locker in order to exchange books for his next class, which was Pre-Calculus. While most students kept their books in their backpacks, Terry had to use his locker as his backpack contained the Batsuit - Bruce was always prepared for anything, and he expected Terry to do the same. Placing his Health Science book in his locker, he got the necessary book out and closed his locker only to see his girlfriend, Dana Tan, right next to him.

He and Dana had been dating for several years now, well before Terry started his employment for Bruce Wayne. Of course, Dana didn't know the true nature of Terry's new job, and the increasing amounts of time he was out was starting to get to her. Fortunately, as time went on, Terry was able to get being Batman down more pat, so he was missing fewer dates with Dana.

"Hello, Terry."

"Hey, Dana. What's up?"

"The new Adam Heat movie comes out this weekend and I managed to score tickets for a showing Saturday night. The reviewers are saying it'll be totally schway. Can you make it?"

"On Saturday, Wayne's having me go to Sutterfeld's speech in the morning. After that, I'm good. So, I'll see you there?"

"See you there." As Dana walked away, going to the left of Terry, Terry proceeded to go to the right, where he bumped into another one of his friends, Maxine "Max" Gibson.

"So, boss man's having you go to Sutterfeld's speech. He think anything will be up?" Terry and Max's relationship was special as Max was one of only two people alive that knew Terry was Batman other than Bruce Wayne, with the other being Commissioner Gordon (who happened to be the former Batgirl). Of course, Max found out by deduction, removing all other possibilities based on characteristics she noted not only about Batman, but of the other students. Well, it was better than Max thinking Terry was a Joker (which she actually did think initially, but realized she was wrong a bit late).

"What do you think, Max?" As the two walked towards Pre-Calculus, they made sure not to let the other students know what they were talking about. Terry continued, "What do you know about Hotab Koch?"

"He's an enemy of the Kaznian government for his violent, communist leanings and is a known terrorist. He's here in Gotham?"

"Right. He hired four ex-Spec Ops soldiers to steal parts for an elite microchip as part of his plan to kill Sutterfeld. Unfortunately, with his hired goons incapacitated, he's going to go for a more blunt approach, which makes him a lot more dangerous. So, I'd suggest you stay as far away from City Hall as possible on Saturday. It could get dangerous."

"Got it." As she said that, Max crossed her fingers, implying she was still going to go to City Hall on Saturday. While Max was definitely a valuable asset for Terry to have: (1) for providing Terry with an alibi to help him be Batman, (2) her computer skills, which were rivaled only by Bruce, and (3) keeping him up-to-date about school life, she also frequently put herself in the line of fire, putting her in danger more than once.

* * *

 _April 18, 2042 1920 hours  
McGinnis Family Residence, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA  
_

Back at his home, Terry made sure to keep the backpack containing the Batsuit secure, so that neither his brother nor mother would accidentally uncover it, thereby revealing his secret identity. Terry seriously doubted that if his mom knew how much danger he put himself in on a regular basis, she would not want him continuing his job with Bruce Wayne, though it would explain a lot about his behavior in the past year and a half or so. His brother, on the other hand, would suffer from such a fan orgasm and would beg Terry non-stop to become his sidekick; Terry and Bruce would both refuse his request in a heartbeat.

Anyway, tomorrow he would have to stop an assassination attempt on a diplomat from a very volatile nation. If he failed, he definitely did not want to think of the consequences. So he definitely needed to get some sleep and be at his best, at 100 percent or better.

Preparing to get some much-needed sleep, he found his door opened by his little brother, Matt. "Terry, dinner!" Groaning, Terry slowly got out of bed (though at that point, he hadn't even slipped under the covers). Right now, Terry didn't need food - he needed sleep, and desperately considering how little sleep he got after long nights for Bruce. At least he's been getting more sleep since he started with Bruce, though he seldom got the recommended nine hours of sleep.

Drudging out of his room, Terry made his way to the dinner table, where Mary, Terry's widowed mother, plated grilled chicken with broccoli and corn. She asked, "So, Terry. I hear that Mr. Wayne is having you go to see Mr. Sutterfeld's speech tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, it'll help me kill two birds with one stone. I'm getting extra credit in world politics for going to the speech, and Mr. Wayne wants to speak with Sutterfeld afterwards regarding an incident between his country and Wayne-Powers."

"What kind of incident, Ter?"

"He didn't tell me, Matt. All I know is that it's something that requires a senior member of the Wayne-Powers board. Since he isn't quite in his prime, I'll be out in the crowd. I am his personal assistant after all."

"Okay then, Terry. Just make sure to stay safe."

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 0008 hours  
Sewer Maintenance Facility, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

At the former Sewer Maintenance Facility, Hotab Koch, the terrorist behind the thefts committed by the ex-MI6 agents was working on the bomb for his attack on Kaznian Regent of Health Klaus Sutterfeld.

Koch by now knew that his associates had been arrested by Batman - none of them had returned with the aluminum he had requested. If they had returned, he would have rigged up a faulty circuit in the microphone that would force them to change locations to one much less secured than City Hall, one where he could take out Sutterfeld much more easily.

He had a lot of work still to get done - in less than nine hours, Sutterfeld would deliver his speech, and that was his window to eliminate him. As Batman had taken down his men, he was willing to bet that he had linked Koch to the MI6 mercenaries, so he'd have to change his appearance.

That he already did, shaving off his beard and leaving a gray mustache, as well as dying both the mustache and his hair a light white. He put in brown contact lenses to change his eyes from their regular green. Lastly, he changed his hairstyle, cutting his hair that formerly went down below his shoulders to a simple crew cut. Nobody would know his new appearance, unless of course they could tell by the structure of his face, which alas, he could not change.

He could hide as much of himself as best he could, but he knew that he had a very short window to get to Sutterfeld. With his appearance down, he worked on constructing a target tracker. Even without the aluminum covering, he could still modify microchips to meet his specifications, specifically allowing him access to the Hyperion, a weapons guidance satellite that will be in range of Neo-Gotham over the next couple of hours. Once he set Sutterfeld as the target, Koch would be able to dispatch a wide array of weaponry against him, especially a warhead that would do everything to track and destroy what it's aimed at.

If he couldn't get him linked to the Hyperion's targeting systems by 1000 hours, he wouldn't get a second chance as the Hyperion codes are changed every day at 1130 hours, locking him out of the system and preventing him from adding Sutterfeld to the target list, and he wouldn't be able to reacquire Sutterfeld long enough to put him on the targeting list.

Finishing the target tracker, and now in the Hyperion's targeting software, Koch put the target tracker inside of a photo camera so nobody would notice it. He just needed ten seconds to put Sutterfeld in the system, and then he was history.

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 0903 hours  
Neo-Gotham City Hall, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

It was now time for Sutterfeld's speech. Terry had already arrived at the site along with Max, who would help him get to a private area so he could change into the Batsuit if need be. However, there were lots of people present, making that a little challenging, not to mention locating Koch, who by now had changed his appearance, and they had no idea he had the target tracker.

Sutterfeld had taken the podium and then began to give his speech, "Attention good people of Neo-Gotham. Today I am here to advocate for a world without biochemical weaponry, one where people need not worry about manmade plagues and genetic viruses that would eradicate millions solely for other parties to conquest. I have been sent by my Highness, the Royal Queen Audrey of Kaznia, to push for an end to biological weapons. Aren't the weapons we have enough already?"

As Sutterfeld continued to speak, Terry continued to look for Koch. Fortunately, the night before, he had planted several covert cameras around City Hall, thereby making the search for Koch easier as Wayne could then scan dozens of people at a time in search for which one was Koch, figuring that he didn't look anything like the picture they had of him.

Slowly moving through the crowd, Terry attempted to spot which one was Koch. However, almost all of the people present looked like they were from America. Almost nobody there looked as if they were from Kaznia, especially from northern Kaznia. Before he could continue thinking, he soon became irritated by the massive amounts of camera flash from journalists and photographers taking pictures of Sutterfeld. Staring at the cameramen, he noticed that one person wasn't actively using their camera. Calling Wayne, Terry said, "The cameramen."

After a moment, Wayne answered, _"Koch's one of the cameramen. He doesn't have a bomb, but a target tracker."_

"A what?"

 _"He can hack into a classified government weapons guidance system and put Sutterfeld on the targeting list, and the satellite will send whatever weapons work to eradicate him. He's waiting for the best possible shot in order to photograph Sutterfeld and put him in. Get the camera, McGinnis."_

Ending the conversation with his boss, Terry began looking for which one was Koch. Having memorized his picture, Terry was able to eliminate a number of the cameramen as they didn't look anything like Koch. Continuing down the rows of photographers, Terry caught one of them moving around through them.

And based on their facial structure, Terry knew that the guy was Koch, who made a vain attempt to disguise himself using hair dye and shaving off his beard. Heading back towards Koch, Terry soon tried to formulate a strategy to get the camera (and target tracker) away from Koch. Judging by Sutterfeld's speech, he was almost finished and Koch was about to get the best possible angle for adding him to the Hyperion's target list.

Koch then pressed down on the photograph button, charging up the flash, which would upload Sutterfeld's picture to the Hyperion. Ten seconds...nine seconds.

He needed to get that camera away from Koch now. Eight seconds...seven seconds.

As he worked on a strategy, he didn't see Max coming his way, having deduced Terry had just found Koch. Six seconds...five seconds. The upload was halfway done. Five more seconds and Sutterfeld was a dead man.

Four seconds...three seconds. Then, Max stumbled around and "accidentally" banged her head into Koch's leg, causing him to lose grip on his camera long enough for the countdown to cancel.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm so sorry sir about ruining your shot." Koch grumpily moved away from Max, trying to reacquire Sutterfeld. However, he soon noticed that cops were coming in. Terry knew that Wayne had signaled them to Koch's position.

Koch rushed to get another shot in, but in his distraction, he tripped and lost the camera, breaking the lens to reveal the target tracker within. With no weapon and the cops coming in, Koch did the only sensible thing to do. Run.

As he ran, Terry proceeded to follow him, trying to keep up with him to figure out where he was going while he changed into the Batsuit. Calling Wayne, Terry said, _"_ Keep an eye on him. I need to get into the Batsuit."

 _"Roger."_

Ending the call, Terry got out of view of the crowd and then ducked into a nearby alley with the backpack. Now, he had his window to turn into Batman and catch Koch.

Before he could begin changing, he soon got another call on his cell phone, this time from a blocked number. He knew that Wayne was a blocked number, as nobody could know he was Batman (actually, Bruce had two registered numbers - one public, civilian number and one blocked for speaking as Wayne).

Answering the call, Terry asked, "Hello?"

Then, the voice on the other end simply said, _"Goodbye, Batman."_

Less than one second later, a bullet connected with Terry's chest, causing him to crash into the wall before slumping onto the ground.

* * *

 **Okay, what an ending. Terry's been shot and Koch is getting away. And just who shot Terry, and how did he know that he was Batman? Will Terry survive? And is anybody else he is close to in danger as well?**

 **Answers to these will come eventually, some next chapter. Others will come much later on in the story.**


	2. Bravo

**Author's Notes**

To sm4567, for me, Gotham City would be the equivalent of New York City, Metropolis would be Chicago, Dakota City would be Pierre, South Dakota, Jump City is San Francisco, and so on. That's honestly how each city appears based on their appearances in the DCAU and that's how I interpreted it. In _Batman Beyond_ , Neo-Gotham is the futuristic Gotham City. Kaznia has yet to be really seen in the comics, so it's safe for me to assume that it is exclusive to the DCAU. I also chose to use military time for this story, so 0034 means 12:34 AM. I'm pretty sure that you haven't figured it out because I'm still figuring it out - how can you know the end of a story that has no clear plan? Anyway, the Hyperion is the same as the one seen in _Return of the Joker_ , with my interpretation of it being a weapons guidance system and one of its potential weapons being the laser from space. In where this story fits in to the _Batman Beyond_ series, I'm fairly sure about that - it takes place at least in early/mid-season 3, well before the events of _Return of the Joker_ (as well as the episode _The Call_ ). As for the distortation of Luminous, that was not intentional.

To JP-Ryder, the mysteries are going to keep unfolding for some time now.

To dragoscilvio, things are definitely going to be interesting from here on out.

 **Okay, realizing that the original title of "The Shot" is sort of lame, I've decided to rename the story "Fear, Hope, Loss, Love", which basically encompasses Terry's state in the story, fearing for his loved ones' safety, hoping that things will be okay, and so on. And the chapters will be named after military phonetics - the first chapter was "Alpha" so this chapter is "Bravo".**

Now, let's continue the story.

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 0910 hours  
_ _Alleyway behind Neo-Gotham City Hall, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

Having just been shot by an unknown assailant, Terry struck the wall and slumped down onto the ground. Groaning in extreme pain, he managed to just drag himself a few inches away, which was enough to move himself out of the assailant's line of sight.

He then went for his phone, attempting to dial for help, but every inch he moved simply caused the bleeding to increase. He would have to remain still until help arrived, if help arrived.

How could it end like this? The Batman, the feared Dark Knight of Gotham, taken down by a sniper while out of costume. Seeing the blood come out, Terry put his hand over his chest in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

As he continued to lay there, he soon saw Max running by the alleyway, searching for where Terry went (and also where Koch went). Terry cried out, "Max" before groaning in pain. That quickly got the ebony teen's attention as she ran back into the alleyway to see Terry.

"Oh my God! Terry!" Turning around towards the crowd still gathered around City Hall, she yelled, "Someone get an ambulance!" With that, the crowd soon began to pull out their cell phones, calling 911 to help Max out.

It didn't take them long to appear as an ambulance gathered Terry onto a stretcher, taking off his backpack and putting it in the ambulance alongside him. Max, however, covertly took his cell phone, knowing that if Wayne called, his secret would be exposed.

Watching the doctors begin work on Terry, they cut off his shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest. Max gave a slight smirk as she knew that the vest probably would help Terry survive his injury. Then, they removed Terry's vest to reveal his bare chest, where the center of his chest, around his heart, was pierced with the bullet.

The ambulance doors then closed as it began to drive off towards the hospital to further treat Terry's wounds. As the ambulance drove away, Max felt Terry's cell phone ring and she then answered the phone. "Hello?"

 _"Max, what are you doing with Terry's phone?"_ It was Bruce Wayne on the line, and from the sound of it, he didn't know what just happened to his "errand boy".

"Terry's been shot."

 _"What?"_

"I don't know the details. He went off after Koch, but only moments later, he cried out in pain - when I checked to see, he was bleeding from his chest."

 _"Dear God. Okay, Max. Did an ambulance take him?"_

"Yes. They're going to Gotham West. Should I head over there as well?"

 _"Where are you now?"_

"Still at the alleyway behind City Hall."

 _"I'll pick you up. Anyway, I suggest you call Dana and tell her what happened."_

"And Terry's family?"

 _"I'll call them and Commissioner Gordon. I'm also going to need Terry's phone to help figure out what happened."_

"Got it."

When Bruce hung up, Max pocketed Terry's phone before pulling out her own. Man, this was going to be very awkward. Inputting the speed-dial for Dana's phone, Max called Dana to tell her the bad news.

After several moments, Dana answered, _"Max, what's up?"_

"Listen Dana. Terry isn't going to be able to make it to your date tonight."

 _" **Why?** "_

"He's been hospitalized, and he isn't looking too good."

 _"What? What happened? Which hospital?"_

"Gotham West. I just wanted to let you know that." Max decided not to fill in Dana about the rest of the situation - saying Terry was shot was definitely a bad idea at the moment. The less Dana knew, the better.

Hanging up the phone, Max waited for Bruce to arrive and pick her up.

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 1029 hours  
_ _Gotham West Hospital, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

At Gotham West Hospital, Terry lay unconscious on the operating table, already going under surgery for the chest wound inflicted. Dana, Matt, and Mary were in the waiting room, looking at the door, anxiously awaiting the doctors to tell them that the surgery went fine (or any news at all), which probably wouldn't be for a couple of hours at least - it was going to be a while before they knew anything certain.

Outside of the room, though, was Max, alone and observing Terry's family and girlfriend. Max blamed herself for what had happened to Terry - she should have caught up with him - maybe if that had happened, Terry wouldn't have been shot and nobody would be in this predicament. Slung over her shoulder was Terry's backpack with the Batman suit, having slipped it away from the ambulance after it arrived, once Bruce had dropped her off there.

Out of the blue, she heard an unexpected voice telling her, "You know blaming yourself is counterproductive."

Walking up behind her was an older woman, likely in her late 50's, with white hair and glasses, wearing a coat over her simple outfit. Max asked the woman, "Commissioner Gordon? What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? Checking in on Terry. He got hit real bad, didn't he?"

"He did. Why are you wondering in particular?" At this point, though, Max had no clue about Commissioner Gordon's connection with the Batman.

"You're a smart girl, Maxine. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Suddenly, it dawned on Maxine about just how the commissioner was connected to Terry. "You were Batgirl back in the day to Bruce Wayne's Batman. How long have you known?"

"Ever since I knew Batman returned, I knew that Bruce had to be involved, but I also knew that he couldn't be the Bat anymore. So, I looked for recent hires of his, and there was only one result."

"Now it's making sense why he didn't stay in his civilian guise when you thought he killed Mad Stan. You'd be able to find him easily. So, how do you know about me and all of this?"

"I keep my tabs on Bruce to make sure he isn't over his head, and in that, I've also spent a fair deal of time watching Terry, so by now I know your place in all of this. Now it makes sense why he went to you and not Dana when he was framed - I wouldn't have known that you knew his secret."

"Any news on who attacked Terry?"

"Unless Koch had a teleporter, there was no way he could have made the shot. Bruce has Terry's cell and is trying to figure out what happened, though that may take a while, despite all of his skill."

Once the conversation had finished, Commissioner Gordon had left, leaving before Max could even realize it. She noted to herself, "Guess it runs in the family."

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 1218 hours  
Gotham West Hospital, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

Terry had recently gotten out of surgery and was now in bed, still under the sedative. Dana, Matt, and Mary were already inside of Terry's hospital room, though Max remained outside. She could only hope that things got resolved and soon.

Feeling hungry, Max began to head towards the cafeteria to get herself some lunch. As she walked away from Terry's room, she heard a voice talking to her, "Where are you going, Max?"

Max turned around to see Bruce Wayne with a cane, looking right at her from outside of Terry's hospital room. Max remarked, "How do you do that?"

"Never mind. I think you should come here." Max followed Bruce's request and walked up towards the millionaire and Terry's boss.

"What's going on? Do you know who shot Terry?"

"No. That's not why I'm here. There's something much darker going on." Bruce opened the door to Terry's room and walked in, followed not that long after by Max, who then closed the door.

Mary McGinnis asked, "Mr. Wayne? Are you here to check on Terry?"

Bruce answered, "Partially, but there's something else." Bruce then locked the door to Terry's room before pressing a button hidden on the side of his cane. He continued, "There. Nobody outside of this room will be able to observe or hear our conversation."

Dana inquired, "Max, do you know what's going on here?"

Max shrugged, "Maybe, but based on what he's doing, I'm not entirely sure about it."

Bruce explained, "Before I explain everything, there's something I need to tell you. Max, would you open up the backpack?"

Max complied, slipping off the backpack on her shoulder before opening it up, pulling out the Batsuit from inside. Immediately, the three inside were all shocked by that. Matt simply commented, "Cool! My brother is Batman!"

Dana, startled by the revelation, asked, "You're telling me that Terry was the Batman? Max, did you know about this?"

Max's reply was a simple, "Yes. I knew Terry was Batman, though not exactly by choice. I found it out on my own."

Mary asked, "Why does that explain so much about Terry's recent activities? And why he confessed to being him before _'Sneak Peek'_? Being Batman, working for you, he's been living a double life! And you condoned this!?"

Bruce responded, "That's why I hired him. I hired him to be the Batman. I couldn't do it anymore and the city needed one now more than ever."

"So why are you telling us this now?"

"Because Terry was shot." Pulling out Terry's cell phone, Bruce played the last call Terry received. _"Goodbye, Batman."_ Hearing a gunshot go off, everyone now knew the circumstances behind Terry's shooting. Dana tearfully realized, "Terry was the target the whole time. Then, how did they know he was Batman?"

"That part I still don't know. There aren't a lot of people that knew Terry's secret. The call came from a burn phone bought six weeks ago but never used previously. Whoever is behind this is very smart and dangerous. Terry was wearing a bulletproof vest, which is likely why he survived."

"Where did the bullet hit my son?"

"It hit him less than one millimeter above his heart. Judging by the weather and the echolocation, I would wager that the sniper was aiming for Terry's head, but failed to account for _every_ condition."

"What now, Mr. Wayne? Do you think they will come for Terry?"

"The news is keeping hush on the incident, not revealing whether or not Terry made it, just in case the assassin tries again, though I think we need to take him out of here. It's a public place, even with cops around here. In addition, if they're going after Terry, then all of you are potential targets for the attempted assassin to use against Terry."

"Wayne Manor, then?"

"Maybe. Before coming here, I secured the Batcave to restrict access to unwanted guests. They wouldn't be able to get in and plan an ambush or snoop for information. However, it doesn't have enough supplies to hold out indefinitely, especially the medical supplies and food. I may have an alternative, but it'll take a little time to set up."

"Where is it?"

"I'll send the coordinates to Commissioner Gordon; she'll escort you there."

"How does she...? She's Batgirl, of course." It turns out once you knew one link in the chain, you could figure out the rest, especially for Dana and Mary.

After that, Bruce unlocked the door before pushing the button on his cane, thereby restoring the eyes and ears into Terry's room.

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 1827 hours  
Gotham West Hospital, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

Terry was still out of it, unconscious following his surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his chest. It would definitely take him some time to recover, meaning he wouldn't be up to snuff if he decided to keep performing his duties as Batman.

As it was, he was still going to be unconscious for the next couple of hours. In Terry's hospital room were Terry's immediate family - his mother Mary and brother Matt, as well as his girlfriend Dana and confidant Max. Outside, Commissioner Gordon was organizing security to ensure nobody would attempt to attack Terry while he remained out of it, unable to fight back.

Bruce was out making sure his "alternative" was set and most likely secure before he had them go there in order to protect them. Then, how long would they have to spend in hiding? They all had lives they needed to be a part of, but would that be worth more than their own survival? And that of Terry? How long would they have to spend at the hospital?

Things were quite ugly at the moment, and things weren't going to get any better in the conceivable future. Right now, Bruce was having them stay at the hospital as long as they could because the equipment there could better monitor Terry's condition than the equipment Bruce had, especially considering Terry's unconscious state. Once Terry awoke, the medical equipment Bruce had on hand would work, but there was no guarantee as to when he would wake up, especially considering the assassin may strike again.

As things continued to remain quiet at the hospital, Mary and Max were browsing the Net through the secure hospital wireless service to see just what the news had reported on Terry, to see just how much the assassin could know. Of course, the assassin would almost certainly know more than the press. The big question, now, was just who the assassin was.

Matt was looking out the window, watching to see just who was coming to the hospital. Thus far, most of the cars he's seen were ambulances and the rest were visitors, none of whom were there to threaten Terry...yet.

Dana, meanwhile, was sitting at Terry's bedside, fondling her boyfriend's left hand with her two slim hands, her right hand slinked around the back of his hand while the front was laying on his arm.

"Terry, this past year or so, it's been insanely tough on the two of us, especially on our relationship. I thought you were losing interest in me at times, my faith in our love broken, but it didn't fall, amazingly enough. When your father was killed, you started to change, especially when you became Batman. You had to put others ahead of me, and for that I understand, even if it didn't make any sense to me at the time. Never forget Terry, I love you."

Bringing his hand up to her lips, Dana lightly kissed it before returning it to its place on his bed. She had inwardly hoped that the gesture would be enough to wake him up - it always worked in the romances she watched. Alas, reality was different than fiction, but this was most definitely as strange as fiction - a world with vigilantes, sewer dwelling pack rats, metahumans, and aliens. And this was Gotham, the scream was practically their town anthem!

Slouching back into her chair, Dana could only hope that Terry woke up soon from his unconscious state. It seemed likely that in his weakened state, he would definitely be off-duty as Batman for some time, meaning she would have some much-needed catch-up time with Terry, but another part of her thought that it wasn't that good for the rest of Neo-Gotham. The city needed its Batman, and that was something Dana could never deny.

Then, Matt yelled, "I think we've got company."

Mary asked her youngest son, "Are you sure, Matt?"

Matt nodded yes as he pointed out a black car that had just drove up to the front of the hospital, where four goons were currently running out of it with submachine guns. Mary thought, _'Crap! They're here to kill Terry! Where is Commissioner Go...'_

Mary's thought was interrupted by the arrival of Commissioner Gordon, who noted, "We need to move Terry now. Four men are on their way, all armed."

Max asked, "How long?"

"Six minutes, give or take. Bruce should be almost ready for visitors once we head out. Let's go."

Fortunately for them, Terry's bed was already on wheels, allowing for much easier mobility. Commissioner Gordon and Mary grabbed the bed and began to push it out of the room, followed by Max, Dana, and Matt. Max had the monitor, which enabled them to monitor Terry's vital signs while Matt carried the defibrillator and Dana kept hold of Terry's breathing mask, making sure that he was still breathing despite being moved, and also that he was asleep. They didn't want him to wake up at that particular moment, or things would be a bit more difficult in getting out of the hospital.

As they reached the elevator, about to press the down button, they then heard an explosion followed by the sprinklers starting to activate. Gordon realized, "The elevators are down. To the right staircase. We need to hurry!"

Immediately, the five moved towards the closest staircase in order to get out of the hospital. As they kept moving, Commissioner Gordon radioed in, "Cardin, Russo, are you there?"

One of the officers responded, _"It's Cardin. They got Russo. I'm pinned down by automatic fire. I need some back-up over here!"_

"How many are you facing?"

 _"Two gunmen. Haven't been able to get a hit..."_ The sudden clattering of gunfire meant that Cardin had just been killed. Dana asked, "Then where are the others?"

Then, Terry's cell phone began to ring and Max answered it. _"Max, what's going on?"_

"The hospital is under attack. Armed goons are here to kill Terry."

 _"You need to get out of the hospital now. Right now I have two gunmen heading up the north staircase, right now on the second level. Two more are coming up the south staircase."_

Gordon radioed in, "Shut down the north and south staircases."

 _"That isn't going to work, Barbara. They've got to the security room, meaning they control the doors. Fortunately, they haven't yet gotten to the security cameras."_

"Don't let them get eyes on us."

 _"I'll try. Get to the east staircase now and take it all the way down."_

"All available units, secure the east staircase immediately."

The group then double-timed it to the east staircase, hoping to get there before the hitmen reached their floor, which would happen in about two and a half minutes.

As they reached the staircase, Max went under Terry's hospital bed and pressed some buttons. Within seconds, the wheels folded up into the bed and in their place were light streams of blue flame.

Matt whined, "So we didn't have to roll Terry? We could have just activated the hyper-jets on the bed."

Max replied, "They won't last for too long. And besides, they're designed for getting these things down stairs. Don't believe everything television claims."

Mary took the front of Terry's bed while Gordon held the back and Dana kept the breathing mask on Terry's face, the three of them moving slowly to make sure that they didn't lose grip of the bed and cause it to crash.

As they moved the bed, they heard what sounded like another explosion up above. The thugs had reached the floor Terry was on. Their staircase wasn't going to be secure for long, meaning they had to move it.

Gordon requested, "Max, you need to take my spot. They're coming."

Max complied, placing the monitor on Terry's bed as she took hold of the bed, moving it along with Mary. Commissioner Gordon took out her sidearm and looked upstairs to see if anyone was coming down towards them.

Keeping her sidearm pointed up the staircase, Commissioner Gordon followed the group as they moved Terry down towards the garage. When they reached the second floor, Gordon could hear footsteps coming well above them. "They'll be down here soon."

The four civilians moved faster with Terry's bed as Gordon took aim towards the top of the staircase, also trying to keep herself out of any potential line-of-sights the thugs had, which would easily reveal their current location.

Then, she heard the unmistakable sound of a grappling gun being fired - she knew that better than most people given her time as Batgirl, meaning that someone would be rappelling down towards them, so she kept her gun trained on the space in between the stairs, where the thug would come towards them. As the thug came down towards her, Gordon opened fire, but was unable to hit the thug before he landed and knocked the gun out of her hand, causing it to spiral down the staircase.

The thug went in for a punch, but Gordon dodged it and returned with a punch of her own, sending him tumbling backwards into the stairs. Moving away from the thug, Gordon picked up her sidearm and yelled, "They're here! Get there now!"

Immediately, the four picked up the pace even faster, passing past the first floor and heading closer towards the garage. Gordon soon followed them only to face gunfire that soon blocked her path. Eyeing the thug firing on her from above, Gordon returned fire, forcing him to back off for the moment, allowing her to move and get down towards the first floor.

The thug fired again on her, the bullets just barely missing her feet and forcing her back against the door to the first floor. Before she could respond with gunfire of her own, the first thug she took down quickly made his way towards her. Commissioner Gordon fired her weapon at the thug, causing him to slump down and crash into the wall. He should be out of the fight, though the Commissioner didn't kill him.

The benefits of future firearms - able to alternate between lethal and non-lethal rounds. Well, at least for the police's weapons.

Moving down towards the group, Gordon was then attacked by another one of the assassins. This one punched her in the back of the head, causing her to stumble and drop her sidearm. Falling down onto the ground, Gordon struggled to get up as the thug grabbed her weapon, aiming it at her.

She quickly kicked the thug in between his legs, causing him to keel over and allowing her to make her getaway, taking her sidearm and finally reaching the garage, where the others had already arrived and were acquiring a vehicle.

Heading towards them, Gordon was halted upon realizing the thugs had arrived at the garage, but as they arrived, the officers that were securing the staircase opened fire on the thugs, forcing them to back off and buying the group a little more time.

With Terry loaded into the vehicle (a black van), Matt, Dana, and Max joined him in the back of the vehicle while Mary got into the shotgun position. Commissioner Gordon hopped into the driver's seat, put the keys in the ignition, and the car took off out of the hospital.

* * *

 _April 19, 2042 1957 hours  
Batcave Safe House, Neo-Gotham, New York, USA_

Bruce had set up the alternate Batcave on the other side of the city, far away from Wayne Manor as to reduce suspicions in the event his identity was exposed. It too was underground and guarded with multiple security systems, as well as stocked with enough supplies to withstand a prolonged siege (for at least six other people). Among its features were three untraceable phones, living quarters, and a second Bat-Computer.

Once Barbara, Dana, Max, and Terry's mother and brother arrived, Bruce had gotten Terry and set up his bed with the monitor attached so he could keep an eye on his vitals.

Mary asked Bruce, "So what now?"

Bruce answered, "With the attack on the hospital, I think this is probably the safest place for you. This location is owned by a shell corporation I created for purchasing my equipment and gear as Batman, so nobody will be able to positively identify this place as belonging to me. Nobody will know you're here."

"How long are we going to have to stay?"

"I don't know at the moment. I do have enough supplies to last us about three months, but based on the circumstances, I'm not sure it'd be wise to restock once we run out."

Barbara then came into the room explaining, "I just got off the phone with my men at the hospital. I lost six officers to those thugs. And four of them had families that I have to explain to them were murdered. Right now, I hope that saving Terry was worth it."

Noticing Barbara's expressions, Bruce asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Hotab Koch is dead. They found him near the abandoned sewer system. From what my officers are telling me, he's been dead for less than six hours. Bullet to the head."

"So Koch was just a pawn. This was never about Sutterfeld, it was about Terry. Whoever found out Terry's identity arranged for Koch to come here, plot an assassination attempt on Sutterfeld, and send Terry right into the path of the bullet. I'm still working on most of the details, primarily with the location of the shot and the weapon. Barbara, I'm going to need the preliminary police report on the murder of Koch."

"It'll be ready by tomorrow morning, Bruce. Right now, I have to make sure that my husband isn't in harm's way by my association with you and Terry. Is there anyone else that you think may be in danger?"

"I'd ask Dana or Max. They know Terry's social circle a lot better than I do."

Barbara Gordon then walked away to speak to Max and Dana about Terry's other friends to see just who else may need protection. Of course, Max and Dana were the closest two to him, meaning they would be the best targets, but anyone who did enough research could find other ways to get to the current Batman.

With that, Bruce and Mary were once again left alone to talk, and talk they indeed needed to do considering just how much she had found out in the past twelve hours.

"Are you really going to go after the men responsible for hurting my son? And without any real police help?"

"Yup."

"And I take it you're going to shoehorn Terry into this as well. Before you do, let me get something out of my mind. What the hell is wrong with you? Enlisting a sixteen year old boy to do your dirty work? To risk his life and limb? All for a paycheck?"

"It's more than that, Mrs. McGinnis. Terry knew the risks. Actually, he stole the Batsuit from me and I was going to shut him down. However, he was able to persuade me otherwise. Look at the state of Gotham. It needed a Batman more than ever at the time that I could no longer do it without straining my heart. And he's been able to handle himself just fine in the field. For Terry, it's more than just money, he feels as if it's some sort of redemption for the crimes he committed back a few years earlier. If you want Terry to give up being Batman, I can understand you, but I suggest you speak to Terry first about the issue."

As Bruce walked away from Mary, she asked, "Is there anybody else that could take Terry's place?"

"Nobody that I can think of and I can't wear the suit without straining my heart. And I fear that the man who had Terry shot knew that. This may have been more than just killing Terry...this may have been an attempt to destroy Batman."

With that shocking thought, Mary was soon left thinking about if she would force Terry to quit being Batman as Bruce further walked away, intending to work on finding any more information about the people that have tried to kill Terry today.

* * *

 **Okay, this is going to be a bit smaller than some of my other stories - I'm guessing maybe 12-13 chapters. And we've still got a long way to go.**


End file.
